I carry your picture in my wallet
by Axiotea
Summary: Modern day pride and Prejudice. Lizzy is open and cheerful, though reclutant to start dating again. Darcy is awkward and aloof, but he wants nothing more than to find THE ONE. Neither of them would recognise love, even if it punched them in the face...
1. Mornings Suck

_**Hi everyone! I am Axiotea, like the greek philosopher, the girl who was Plato's disiple, the one who had to dress as a boy, because girls could not be educated at the time, the great philosopher. **_

_**I am doing another pride and prejudice fanfic, and well...since this is my first story here I felt compelled to introduce myself, so here it goes...**_

_**Disclaimer: Obiously this amazing story was definitely not my idea.**_

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_**Mornings suck.**_

ELIZABETH LOUISE BENNETT COME RIGHT DOWN HERE THIS MINUTE! Faye Bennet could be heard screaming from downstairs.

Lizzy groaned and pulled an arm over her eyes; she had stayed down at Charlotte's until late last night, and was in no humour to be waked by a screaming Faye.

She turned around in bed, and tried to pull a pillow over her head to stiffen the cries from her insane family as they woke up

She could hear, as if from far away, how her door opened and closed with force, followed close by an indignant gasp as the pillow was yanked away from over her face and she was almost dragged off her bed by her mother.

"Get up, you sluggish, lazy girl, don't you realize you will never catch anyone if you look this groggy all day long?" Faye asked as her daughter tried to sit in bed, her hair looking like a haystack, blue bags under her eyes and traces of makeup adorning her face.

"Dear God, what happened to you?" She asked, looking perfectly scandalized

"Mom, I told you already, I went last night to Charlotte's after we went to the bar, she wanted me to help her arrange last minute stuff for today's party"

"ELIZABETH! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO GO OVER TO CHARLOTTE LUCAS' HOUSE? THAT GIRL IS PLAIN UGLY; IT DOES NOTHING FOR YOU TO BE SEEN AROUND HER!"

"Mom, Charlotte is my friend, and it is beside the matter whether you can appreciate or not her beauty" Lizzy said sternly, she was starting to get seriously annoyed; it would not do to have her mother openly criticize her best friend. True, she was not what most people would consider beautiful, but beauty was relative, besides, beauty, in Lizzy's mind did not exist. Things were not beautiful or ugly, things were either agreeing to one's taste, or disagreeing. Something considered ugly by many can be amazing for someone else.

"I do not care if she is the one hosting the party Lizzie, can't you be more like Lydia? She is going to the party but she is not tied down to any ugly friend, she knows how to explore her potential" Faye Bennet squeezed her eyes shut, her second eldest always had the power to piss her out in less than a second, nothing at all like her dear Lydia... Faye had not understood that bit about appreciating beauty, but she was sure Lizzy was best friends with Charlotte just for the money and the parties. Charlotte was filthy rich, and since she could not catch a boyfriend for the life of her, she was always throwing parties. Or, at least, that was how it was in Faye's brain. In reality, Charlotte had had many boyfriends, but none ended well, and she threw parties all around mainly because her parents liked to show off their house.

"No Mom, Charlotte is my friend, but whatever, leave me alone so I can change and I will go downstairs, Ok?" Lizzie asked, sensing that if she tried to defend Charlotte it would end up being a never ending debate until either her mother started complaining about her poor nerves and left, or Jane entered the room and managed to get both of them to shut up.

With another stern look and a disappointed shake of the head Faye Bennet left the room. Not that Lizzy cared; it had always been like that. Lizzy had never been one of her mother's favourite daughters, indeed, she could have been said to be the least favourite. Lydia occupied the first place, actually, the two women were so alike it was creepy, feather-brained Lydia and dim-witted Faye were obviously mother and daughter, and it could be noticed from a few miles away. Second in line was Jane, but that could not have been helped, she was beautiful, calm, sincere, open, modest, everything that was good and pretty in the world, it was true that she sometimes tended to border on naive, but that was just part of who she was, and nobody could help liking her. Mary and Kitty were rather the unimportant kids, Kitty always stuck with Lydia, uniting in never-ending stupidity, and Mary was just Mary, she usually had her nose in some book or other, mostly studying for school or practicing piano. Last and least in the line was Lizzy, in every way possible she was a disappointment to her mother. She was not as beautiful as Jane, nor as lively as Lydia, she did not even had the good grades Mary had and even if she failed everything else, and she did not try to improve as Kitty did. Truth was, Elizabeth couldn't have cared less if her mother thought her beautiful, silly, or if she thought Lizzy had a great personality, she would rather be her hated self and the hell with her mother, than have a proud mom and be living someone else's life. Plus, her father loved her that way, even without her mother's help, Lizzy had always been a Daddy´s Princess kind of girl, so it was fine by her.

Lizzy stifled a yawn and stood up from bed, the day was really not worth throwing away, as she looked out of the window she realized that she would indeed end up indebted to her mother for waking her up, it was the perfect day to go jogging. As she changed into running shorts and her favourite workout grey hoodie she meditated on the conversation- if it could have been called that- which she had had with her mom. Charlotte was her best friend in the whole world, and she had had that argument with Faye way too much times for her liking, she would not have let it drop usually, but rather continue until Faye was forced to withdraw. Still, she had made a bet with her dad; he said that she could not possibly go for a week without arguing with her mother, she said she obviously could. When she was younger she had sustained more than a week without an argument. Yet, that had been before the accident, and before her mother started with all the hating.

Thinking of that night made her head throb, Lizzy remembered when she woke up at hospital, six weeks later, and tried to lift her arm, when, to her surprise she found it was all stitched and covered in bandages. She had been in a coma for six weeks when she finally woke up and found herself all bruised and parched up, after that, she had stayed another month at hospital, and was about a year doing rehabilitation until she could recover from the shock.

Lizzy shuddered, even thinking about it got her nervous, it had coasted her a great deal to get over it, still, she had never fully recovered, but it was thanks to her dad that she had made the progress she had.

Tying her hair up in a knot she took a deep breath and tried to relax, the last nervous breakdown she had had been years ago, and she didn't want to repeat it, with time she realized that it was better not to think about gloomy things when she was either on edge or very tired.

* * *

Will woke up as the plain was touching down. He was sitting besides the corridor, as Charlie- his best friend- had taken the seat next to the window, so he could feel as someone gently touched his arm to see if he was awake. As he looked up he could see Caroline grinning and gesturing to the sign that had lightened up indicating that seat-belts should be put on. He buckled his and turned to buckle up Charlie's, who was still sleeping soundly. As he searched for the other end of the seatbelt his best friend woke up.

"Whoa, Darce, let's take it slow, I have no idea what all those years with the militia surrounded by guys has done to you, but I am still straight" Charlie teased sleepily as he woke up and saw his friend leaning over him searching for something.

Will Darcy smiled and shook his head, sitting straight in his seat. When he first announced he was joining the army everyone had tried to dissuade him from it, though the only ones who had almost succeeded had been Charlie and Ritz, his cousin. Actually, it was Georgie the one who almost succeeded though she made it thought Charlie and Ritz. He had been packing when they both knocked his door, got in his room and ambushed him, numbering reasons why he shouldn't go, but when they mentioned that Georgie was depressed and had stopped eating because he was leaving he closed, turned around and left to have a long conversation with her. He loved his sister, they had a really deep bond and Charlie and Ritz decided to use it against him, but when all had been talked over and Will was allowed to leave, seeing as their masterplan had failed, Ritz and Charlie took a different approach to the subject and started teasing the hell out of him. The only times that they had succeeded in making him uncomfortable was when they hinted that he had joined a men's company because he wanted to be surrounded by only guys all day. He had nothing against gay people, they were just people, but it got under his skin when Charlie and Ritz started openly hinting to every single one of his dates that he was gay. Eventually, they succeeded in making him quit, though instead of quitting the army, as they had hoped he would, he ended up quitting dating.

"What? No response from the great Fitz-..."

"Shut up!" Will interrupted before Charlie could say his full name.

They were still on an English plane and he did not want to catch any attention. There was a time when, if his name was mentioned, anyone in the vicinity would take out their cameras intuitively, and though Will prayed that time was past, when he got back from war there had been quite a number of magazines explaining the full story. He was English, but had made all of his tours with an American company. England had sent a few hundred men to help with the war in Iraq, and he had made four tours with the American army. Nevertheless Will had been forced to resign because of a wound in his leg, he was still doing rehabilitation for it, since the bullet had torn away the muscle and broke the bone, unluckily, it had not been a clean fracture, and though he had already regained full mobility of his leg he still couldn't force it too much.

"Sure mate, though it feels as if you have been getting grumpier after each tour"

"I am not grumpier, I just come back to find things in a progressively worst state" Will complained as he got off the plane.

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_**ANNND?... how did you like it? Please Review! If you hated it, loved it, think anything should be changed... please review, I love hearing from everyone, even haters. PLEASE! **_


	2. Universally acknowledged No such luck

_**Hi everyone! I am so glad that you liked it! I hope I dont disapoint you! 3**_

_**Disclamer: this is not mine, there is a much better vertion by Jane Austen, in case you did not know...**_

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_**Universally acknowledged?...No such luck.**_

The run had been great, Lizzy managed to run three loops around the park in record time. Running was a great way to start the day, even if the day was starting at two in the afternoon after an argument with her mother. Actually, the quarrel with mom part was just a daily occurrence, a very obnoxious daily occurrence. Scratch that, quarrels with every member of her family except for Jane and her dad were a daily occurrence. Lizzy loved them all, and she was sure that very deep inside, in the confines of their hearts, they loved her too; they just couldn't make it work.

When Lizzy arrived home, a very cross Faye Bennet opened the door.

"What, you forgot your keys again? You know you missed lunch, right?" Her mother said as Lizzy knocked on the door.

"Yes, mom, I am sorry. Is there anything left for me to grab a quick dinner?"

"Yes, with your father in the study, he was determined not to eat a single bite of food until you returned home. He thinks you shouldn't eat alone. I think you should, if you are going away from the family at lunch time" Faye answered irritably. She never understood what the deal with Tom Bennet was; he was always favoring Lizzy, even after that supposed accident. He supported her when she said she did not want to go out and date anymore. Faye knew that Lizzy was to blame for the accident. It was all her fault; she had done it on purpose to piss her off. Faye Bennet could still remember the loads of cash she had been forced to waste on her daughter, she resented her for it. Lydia had had to wear the same dress again and again because after wasting so much money on medicine and therapy for Lizzy they could not afford to waste any on Lydia. That was unforgivable, poor dear Lydia; she had to suffer the stupidity of her sister.

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Darcy sighted. He was just too goddam tired to go anywhere, Charlie had been living in the neighborhood for about two weeks now, and had gone over to London to pick him up with Caroline and Louisa, Charlie's two insufferable sisters. Truly, Caroline was a pain in the ass, always trying to hit on him, wearing provocative clothes whenever he was near, and pressing their bodies together continuously, and Louisa was just too damn ridiculous, with her puffy little husband. In reality, John Hurst was not a bad man; he was just as interesting as a brick wall. In fact, ogling at a brick wall for ten hours would be way more interesting than a conversation with John.

Will run a hand though his messy tangle of black hair as he unpacked, he did not want to go to any party; he gave a shit if Charlie's new crush was going to be there. Charlie was falling in love all the time, and probably by next week, whichever gold-digger Charlie was going out with now would be past and forgot. He had been no more than two weeks living here, and he had already gotten them all invited to a party that night. A party Charlie should have noticed Will was obviously too tired to attend to.

"Come on D-man! If you don't start getting ready we are going to be late, and I want to be there when my angel arrives. I definitely have to meet her, don't you think?" Charlie started prattling as he entered Will's room after a faint knock.

"Charlie, I hate to burst your bubble, but you don't even know 'your angel'. God, you don't even know her name, you just saw her on the grocery store one day and were far too stunned to even talk to her."Will teased him; it was a normal occurrence with Charlie for this to pass.

"That, my dear friend, is why I want to meet her. Won't it be fantastic if she is there? I have her image printed in my mind's eye; blond, blue eyes, sweet smile, she even glowed Will, she was an angel" Charlie laughed, still, Will could catch a dreamy smile on his best friend's face as his laughter faded.

"Seriously though, do I have to come?"

"Yes! You MUST, what will the people think if you don't?" Charlie seemed scandalized.

"I don't care what the people think, besides it had been raining, and my leg hurts. I wouldn't be able to stand the whole night; I would just be a bother wasting place"

"Not at all, and I never want to hear you complain about you leg anymore, you sound like my grandpa. You know" Charlie began conversationally "We are all indebted to whoever fired at you for bringing you back home, it could always have been worse. By the way, do you know who it was? I could go over and thank him" Charlie messed with him. Will knew he sounded like a seventy year old complaining that his bones hurt with all the humidity, but now that he was going through it, he could actually understand what Charlie's Grandpa- who was always complaining- was going through.

"No, I have no idea who fired, and I don't want to know, I think I wouldn't be too glad that my friends went over and thanked a guy for landing me in hospital"

"Just because that is what took to bring you back home to us" Charlie said as he left his friend some time to try to mend his humor. Charlie was positive there was something the matter with Will, he just couldn't pinpoint what it was, and neither could Ritz, so they had developed a plan of action. Ritz would stay behind in London and try to gauge from Georgie what was the matter with Will- If anyone knew it was her- while Charlie brought Will with him to America and tried either to get him over the war, or convince him to see a therapist. They were sure that Darcy would never have told them directly what the matter with him was.

Will sighted. Charlie was his best friend, but he could sense that Charlie was trying to get the truth of the accident from him. Will knew who it was that had fired at him. It had been a soldier from his own company, a soldier he had been particularly close to, the same man that had convinced him to join the army.

Giving up on staying at home for the night, Will took some clothes and went to have a shower. Looking on the bright side, he would be finally able to meet 'the angel'.

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"SPEED UP ELIZABETH; WE OBIOUSLY DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE FOR THE PARTY!" Lizzy wondered what the deal was; most of the days, all which could be heard in that house was Faye Bennet yelling at her to get ready.

Lizzy obliged, and in two minutes she was already downstairs with Jane, who had come from work short after Lizzy finished having lunch with her dad.

"You look stunning, sweetheart" Her father complimented as she flashed him a smile. She was wearing a night blue dress that reached over to her mid tights and hugged her curves together with strapped black high heels.

Reality check= her father was just complimenting her because she was the only one to come down and not get her outfit commented on by her mother. Although it had been more of a pity compliment she definitely looked stunning, though she paled in comparison to her elder sister Jane.

Jane had her long blond, slightly wavy hair down, and was wearing a tight black dress that complimented her figure with hot pink high heels; she also had her baby blue eyes eye lined, which gave an angelic tone to her smiling face.

As Lizzy scanned the room, she noticed that the only ones dressed to go to the Lucas's apart from her were Jane and Mary.

"Are the rest of you not coming?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No, your mother is dropping you off, and I am staying with Kitty and Lydia, who are grounded" His father responded softly to her ear.

"Oh" was all she had to say. Kitty and Lydia must have screwed it up big time, for them to be grounded and her mother allowing it.

"You know, William Lucas has told me that our new rich neighbor has been invited to the party, along with his two sisters, his sister's husband and another rich friend of his. Maybe Jane and Lydia could claim them if Lydia was allowed to come" Mrs. Bennet hinted heavily when she heard her husband whispering in Lizzy's ear.

"Darling, I don't think either of the young men would like to be claimed by any of your wonderful daughters, besides, if any of my girls should marry a rich, deserving man, I would hope it to be Lizzy."Mr. Bennet replied with a gleam in his eyes.

"Lizzy! Nonsense, Jane is far more beautiful and Lydia far more vivacious" Faye claimed as her eyes shot daggers at her daughter. "Besides, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a rich bachelor is always in need for a wife. Why couldn't any of my beautiful girls catch them?"

Lydia squealed in delight at the prospect of bagging a rich hot guy. Jane simply blushed and looked at the floor, obviously embarrassed while Lizzy did a major facepalm.

"There is nothing as a truth universally acknowledged, since every truth has a bit of lie in it. For it to be a complete truth it would need to describe the exact feeling of everyone and what was happening at the time, if not it would be a half truth, and a half truth is a half lie." Mary reasoned, only gaining annoyed stares from her mother, Lydia and Kitty. Who as far as they could understand thought Mary had just claimed that Faye was a liar, and that Lydia would not be able to get a rich handsome husband.

Lizzy exchanged looks with her dad, as he offered her his arm to take her outside. She gladly accepted, and strolled into the garden, pretending to be Kings of the world. Once they stepped into the garden they gave each other another amused glance before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Truth universally acknowledged? No such luck, sorry Faye.

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_**Soooo, what do ya think? Like, Dislike? Hope it continues this way? Did I dissapoint you? PLEASE REVIEW! I saw story traffic like you sploggers!**_


	3. Sorry to disappoint

_**Disclaimer: I the author of the content that can be found here within can assure you, the reader that any of the opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my highly disorganized and somewhat disfunctional mind interprets the great Jane Austen´s works. I would like to expressly convey to you (the reader) that were I to accidentally defame, purge, humiliate and or hurt someone's person or feelings as a result of them reading and or acting upon any or all of the information and or advice found here at this site, it is entirely unintentional of me to do so. Should you (the reader) identify any such content that is harmful, malicious, sensitive or unnecesary, I request that you contact me via review so I may rectify the problem. Failing that you may like to just sit and weep incessantly!**_

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_**Sorry to disappoint**_

After Faye had dropped the three sisters in their friend's house Lizzy went to look for her best friend in the throng of people that had already arrived. She found her talking to a guy Lizzy had never seen before, looking the best she had seen her in a long while. Charlotte was tall and thin, with frizzy brown hair and olive skin. Lizzy knew that with her eagle-like nose and acne covered face Charlotte was not considered one of the most beautiful girls in the world, but she was wearing a black pencil skirt with a crème blouse that made her look wonderful.

"Char, you look spectacular, whom are you planning to dazzle this evening?" Lizzy teased as she tackle-hugged her friend. Lizzy had always been one for hugs, if she did not hug you or you did not get to hug her, then you were definitely not one of her favorite people in the world.

"Whoever cares to look, Lizzy-bear, but with your sudden appearance it seems you have scared away my only suitor" Charlotte laughed as they saw the guy Charlotte had been talking before walk away.

"Who was that?"

"Some random guy that was invited here by a friend of a friend, I have just met him. God, this is out of control, I told a few select people that they may bring someone along and now we have a full house." Her friend complained to the air, though Lizzy could tell that deep inside she was rather pleased that her party had been so popular.

"The more the merrier" Lizzy said voicing what both of them were thinking, and then continued talking until she realized that no one was hearing her. "Char, Char. Would you look over here please?" She said as she gave a gentle pull on her friend's shoulder.

As Charlotte made no reaction whatsoever she looked over to where everyone's gaze was, and saw that their new neighbor had arrived with his friends. They all looked like runway models, especially the taller girl and the dark haired man beside her. There was a smiling guy, whom she knew to be Charles Bingley, since he had been living for a week as her neighbor, he was tall, well built and had green eyes with hot red hair. Then there came a short girl with the same open face Charlie had who was hand in hand with another short man, also well built with blonde hair and brown eyes. The tall girl was standing to Charlie's left, with the same hot red hair Charlie and the other woman had, but she had blue eyes, and instead of having that open, smiling face the other two had, she looked as if she was smelling something horrible with her nose thrown up in the air, and she was pressing herself against the dark haired man, who looked disgusted. That man was pretty breathtaking, and Lizzy gazed longer at him than at the rest. He was well built, but looked to be more constant in exercise than Charlie, and he was also taller. He had a black maze of hair that was all tangled and struck in the ends, as if he had run his hand though it many times in frustration, and he had deep electric blue eyes which she loved.

She suddenly realized that she had been staring, as everyone else had, and looked down with a blush. She tried to imagine what it would be like to cause such a sensation when she walked into a room, and pictured herself with her sisters walking into a place like a bunch of runway models. She had to laugh at the ridiculous picture of her mother and Lydia trying to appear sophisticated and classy.

Charlotte snapped out of it when she heard Lizzy laugh, and grabbed her and Jane as backups to go and welcome their guests. Jane looked confused when she felt Charlotte tug at her clothes, but let her grab her arm and went to help Charlotte. Lizzy, instead, was planning into pulling a major pout and getting out of playing host allong with them, but seeing as her friend was desperate she went with her and Jane to meet their guests.

* * *

Will though of Georgiana in the ride to the party, he missed his sister a lot. Luckily, he would see her again for Christmas, and she was with Atticus, their golden retriever, so she wouldn't feel that much left out. He somehow managed to forget that the deal was that Ritz was with her while he was deal they made was why he was here at all.

Ritz had been playing Counter-strike with Georgie a week after Will arrived from hospital. Will was carrying some dishes to the kitchen when Ritz though it would be a good idea to pull up the volume. It was not a good idea. The sound of the guns and firing scared the hell out of Will, who got a kind of flashback, thinking he was still in Iraq. He suddenly dropped everything he had been holding in his hands and tensed all over.

This, in turn, scared the hell out of his sister and his cousin, who heard as the broken dishes clattered to the floor and run to the kitchen to find Will paralyzed with shock, his hands trembling. After a few incidents of the same kind, in which Ritz decided to scare his cousin while he was sleeping, and swiftly found himself almost chocked to death by one of Will's knee-jerk reactions, everyone agreed that Will should take a break and try to calm down.

That was the reason why Will agreed to go with Charlie at all, they had schemed against him, and arranged everything for him so he could not deny. The first point on their plan to restore him back to normal was taking him out to have fun, that was the reason of going to this stupid party. Will was sure of that. That, along with the not so slight chance of meeting Charlie´s angel, considering the smallnes of Meryton.

Charlie turned off the ignition and jumped out of the car excitedly. He was going to see his angel. He was sure she would be there, almost.

The rest of his friends were not so glad. The only one who did not care if he went at all was John Hurst, and Louisa was the one who concealed best that she would rather be anywhere else, Caroline did not care to hide it, and Will was too much concentrated on Georgiana and the pain in his leg to even realize that he was pulling faces as he walked into the party.

Will suddenly realized everything was quiet, and looked over only to see people staring at them, making it one of the most awkward moments in his life, the other being the first time he took a bath in Iraq. Somehow out of the blue, someone laughed, and everyone realized they had been gaping ineptly. Will looked over at who had laughed, and found it was a girl who had the same cheerful air his mother had had, and that he had started noticing Georgiana had developed. This made him even more melancholic, and also made him resentful of the girl for having that quality.

A person he supposed to be his hostess appeared out of the throng arm in arm with a blonde blue eyed girl and dragging over the girl who had laughed. Will caught Charlie ogling at the blonde girl, who in turn blushed and lowered her gaze a little, gaining a curious look from the other girl. He then directed his eyes to her. She was rather good-looking, he thought, with her brown hair and brown eyes, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hi, Charlie, I am so glad you could come" Their hostess said. Will had been so caught up in the brown haired girl he had not even looked at their hostess. She was tall and thin, with brown hair and dark, olive skin, and if she could do something for her acne, he imagined she could be good looking enough. "These are Lizzy and Jane Bennet, they live over Loungbourn, you know" She said as she pointed to both girls, first the brunette and then the blonde.

"Charlotte, I am so happy you invited us, Lizzy, Jane, it is a pleasure to meet you" He said addressing both sisters but looking pointedly at Jane, who was all smiles. "These are my sisters Caroline and Louisa, this is my sister's husband, John Hurst, and this is my best friend Will Darcy." Charlie said as he indicated with a nod of the head who he was talking about.

Will gave a silent nod when he heard his name and saw they had been talking about him. After he had heard her name he hadn't paid much attention to the turn the conversation was taking. It was then a big surprise when he found that everyone had gone away and he was standing alone with Caroline, who was asking if he would like to go over to where the bar was.

"Yeah, sure, I would like to sit down for a moment" He answered absentmindedly as he scanned the crowd looking for the girl who had been introduced as Lizzy.

Awhile later, Will was sitting alone near the bar, and Caroline was dancing dunk with the same stranger that had been talking to Charlotte earlier that night. Charlie had been dancing the whole night with Jane, Hurst and Louisa had disappeared from the surface of the earth, and Charlotte was helping Lizzy along with some other girl take away a drunken teenager they called 'Mary'.

Will sighted and looked over to find Charlie coming over to him.

"What, no shoe left from your Cinderella?" Will joked when he saw the elated face his friend had.

"Jane? She has gone over to the bathroom, I am sure she will come back in a second. I am here because you cannot be sitting there like that all night" Charlie protested, trying to dismiss Jane from his mind at least for a minute so he could focus on his friend.

"What? There is nothing wrong in me taking a seat, there are a lot of people sitting down and my leg hurts"

"Yes, but those people are sitting because they are either too drunk to dance or too tired. You are not drunk, and you cannot be tired, since you haven't danced at all, indeed, you have been sitting there the whole night! Why don't you go over and dance with somebody? Jane's sister, Lizzy, for example. She seems open, cheerful, and gorgeous and I can see she reminds you of Georgiana, why don't you ask her?"

"Are you serious Charlie?" Will scoffed. The comment about Georgiana had been too close to the mark for him to be comfortable. The truth was that all that Will wanted was a marriage like the one his parents had had. Before his mother's death they had been really close, and if you could catch them when they thought no one was looking, they were the sweetest pair alive. So the only times Will truly considered any girlfriend, was when they reminded him of how close his mom and dad had been, now Georgiana was starting to look like their mother, so she was what Will considered ideal beauty. "She could never be as beautiful as Georgie, no one in the world could. Besides it would be really painful for me to dance with her" He said referring to his leg, though it came more aggressive than he intended to.

* * *

After the uncomfortable half conversation with Charlie, Charlotte and Lizzy went back to the party only to find out that Mary had been drinking too much for her, since she had always been a lightweight, and Maria was frantically looking for her without results. Lizzy and Charlotte helped over with the search, which took them almost all night. When they had finally found Mary, vomiting in the bathroom, they took her to the guest room so she could lie down, as Lizzy went to the bar to look for a glass of water.

She had been taking the glass back to Mary when she saw Charles Bingley walk over to his cranky friend, Will Darcy. Darcy looked as if something had gone up his arse and died; he had been sulking over a corner all night, and by it had managed to offend a few ladies that hoped to be asked to dance by him. She was close enough to overhear the conversation, but thanks to a group of batty girls that were rounded up, ogling at the two gentlemen, she could not be seen. She would now be able to get some dirt on what Charlie though of her sister.

"Indeed, you have been sitting there the whole night! Why don't you go over and dance with somebody? Jane's sister, Lizzy, for example." She could hear Charlie arguing with his friend, she blushed that he had suggested her to dance with, but then remembered she was the only other girl apart from Jane and Charlotte from here that he knew. "She seems open, cheerful, and gorgeous and I can see she reminds you of Georgiana, why don't you ask her?" Charlie continued, making Lizzy warm up to him more and more. She hadn't been so sure if she liked the idea of Jane going out with him, but he seemed innocent enough.

"Are you serious Charlie?" She could hear him scoffing. "She could never be as beautiful as Georgie, no one in the world could. Besides it would be really painful for me to dance with her" That decided him as a huge asshole. She had though it was sweet the way he said that no one could ever been as beautiful as that Georgie girl. Seriously, it meant that he loved her a lot, and she had thought him rather sweet, but then he had thrown it out of the window saying that it would be a pain to dance with her. Really painful for him, he had said, that arse. It had really been a blow to her pride and her self-confidence. Was she really ugly, so much that it would be a pain for anyone to ask her to dance?

A few minutes later she had left the glass of water with Mary, who had fallen asleep and was recounting the incident to Charlotte. All the insecurity from before had gone, it was a moment of weakness and it had passed away fortunately. Now, all that was left in its place was amusement at the way a misanthrope behaved in a party. It was like a science experiment for someone who, like Lizzy, liked analyzing characters.

"You know, I pity the guy, just imagine what you detest most in the whole wide world. Now, picture yourself in a room full of it. It is rather sad" Lizzy reasoned with Charlotte.

"Ugh, a room full of Twilight" She shivered in horror. "You know the world is going to end when our generation starts reading about sparkling vampires" Charlotte commented as Lizzy laughed.

"Well, just think of it, he is a misanthrope, so a person for him is the equivalent of Twilight for you, it is a situation I would never like to be caught on, I just wonder how the hell he got into here." Lizzy laughed with her friend

"Poor guy, no wonder he hates everyone" Charlotte said with a pity look to where he had been sitting a while ago.

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_**PLease, PLease review! I beg you! I know you are there, and for all of you that read it but do not like it, please tell me what the matter it is with it so I can fix it! (I think I sound desperate enough to get a miseravble review, dont I?)**_


	4. Gossip

**A/N: Hi everyone, I am so glad that I haven't screwed up with the story yet! Also, totes to Dragongirl224, who taught me how to do a break line, as you may have noticed all chapters suddenly had decent break lines, well, it is thanks to this awesome person, so you may drop a few lines of appreciation and thanks. You may have also noticed that I fixed up all the word mix-ups I had made, thanks for pointing them out.**

**Avanell: Thanks for reviewing! I am really happy you like it so far. LOL, If I had been grading your test I would probably have given you an A. Your office staff sound cool, mine wouldn't have understood it, seeing as they are all over sixty and as updated as a boom box, though I would love to have one...**

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**Gossip**

Lizzy and Jane decided to stay the night at Charlottes and have a small slumber party. After everyone had gone and they had cleaned up everything, the three girls went to go over the night´s events, giving their opinion on the people that came and what they did.

It was a tradition with them to do this kind of stuff, and as Charlotte had the bigger house of the two, both Lizzy and Jane almost always spent the night at Charlotte´s. Lizzy was by far the more frequent visitor, since Jane went after an event, or when anything of importance, or anything of not much importance, had to be discussed. On the other hand, Lizzy went almost every week to Charlotte´s after the accident. It was to such a ridiculous extent that Charlotte´s parents had bought another bed, and kept it always ready in Charlotte´s room for when Lizzy decided to stay, since most of the times she stayed were really out of the blue. If anything was amiss, or if she had a headache and couldn't think, or whenever she had had a big fight with Faye and Tom was out of town, Lizzy would take her toothbrush and run over to Charlotte´s without notice. So that it was often when they would hear the bell and find Lizzy had come to stay the night while Charlotte was gone to spend the night somewhere else.

The best part of all was that Char´s parents wouldn't give a thing if anyone stayed or went, less if it was any of the Bennet girls, whom they loved as if they were extended family. Jane and Lizzy were always amazed at how Charlotte´s mother was cool with everything, and let Charlotte do just whatever she wanted, as long as she did not do any crazy, stupid thing.

Both Lizzy and Jane had left some clothes at Charlotte´s the last time they stayed, so they did not have to go home again to search for anything. Jane had simply forgotten them; Lizzy always left a pyjama in her bed at Charlotte´s. When the girls had changed and the light was turned off Charlotte immediately turned around and grabbed a flashlight they always used when they talked. It was a habit that had begun when they were six years old and had stayed for the first time at Charlotte´s. Char´s mom had turned off the lights, thinking that when the lights went off all the small girls would go to sleep. Instead, young Jane almost pissed herself from fear, so Lizzy took a flashlight from her friend, to give to her sister who was still scared of darkness. When the light turned on again Charlotte decided she could not go to sleep, and the three little girls stayed up the whole night talking. When Charlotte´s mother went to look for them the next morning, she found the trio of girls cuddled together in Charlotte´s bed with the flashlight still on.

Since then, every time Jane and Lizzy stayed at Charlotte´s they would turn off the lights and talk with a flashlight, pointing at the face of whoever got to talk, indicating turns. Even though Jane had long ago ceased to be scared of darkness, and Charlotte´s mother now allowed them to stay up the whole night talking, unlike when they were six, the girls still kept the tradition. If only for the sake of remembering what they did when they were still scared that Charlotte´s mom would walk in on them and find that the light was still on and they were not asleep.

"Jane, I hear that Charles Bingley, our new millionaire neighbour, has set an eye on you" Charlotte begun with a suggestive raise of the eyebrows.

"I wouldn't put it that way, Char. I do like him, I mean; he is really cute and seems like a nice sort of guy, but we have just met, and I think he wants to be friends. Anyway, we will probably be hanging out tomorrow with his sisters" Jane admitted sheepishly. After spending the whole night with the same person, she could not easily say she was indifferent, or that they were just hanging out and meant nothing, since she would be going out with him on the next day, true, his sisters were also going, so that would be on her favour when she tried to dissuade Lizzy and Char from thinking what Jane knew they were thinking.

"I overheard him saying you were ´his´ angel, if that term means anything to you, but, indeed, I had forgotten. A guy always calls a really cute gal he just met and with whom he has danced all night his angel" Charlotte continued the debate.

"You heard Charles Bingley say that my sister was his own angel and you did not tell me? How could you, I thought we had an agreement!" Lizzy slapped her friend playfully on the arm, taking the flashlight away from Charlotte indicating it was her turn to talk.

"Still, you cannot say anything to Charlotte, since we too, had an agreement and you did not tell me about the Darcy incident"

"I... I can't believe you told her Charlotte! You betrayed me!" Lizzy blushed uncomfortably, thinking of how Darcy had insulted her without having even spoken a word to her, she had made light of it with Charlotte, but it had really annoyed her that he thought it would be a pain to dance with her, it reminded of when she had had the accident, and her mother told her no one would want her after that.

"Tatter tale over here" Charlotte raised her hand "Really, Lizzy, I though you wouldn't be troubled by such a nonentity"

"You weren´t planning on telling me, you are such a bad sister!" Jane teased taking the flaslight away from Charlotte before Lizzy could take it and reply to Char.

"Oh, shut up, you weren't planning on telling me about Charlie either"

"Lucky both of you were planning on telling me" Charlotte said as she was bombarded with pillows. With a look, both sisters agreed to keep the details for each other once Charlotte had dropped to sleep.

* * *

Will drove in the ride back, not only because Charlie had drunk, but he also wanted to evade a high Caroline Bingley. Darcy had no idea if Charlie knew the state in which his sister was in, but decided not to meddle with it. The last time he had tried to do something like that, it had backfired in his face, and he ended up paying for sticking his nose in other people´s business, though good naturedly.

Will woke up at five, as he had gotten used to doing when he was on the tours. Actually, he had gotten used to taking shifts on guard, so he almost called it a full night´s sleep, even if they had arrived around two in the morning. He had also gotten into the habit of napping at any time, so instead of a long uninterrupted sleep, like the one Charlie got, he slept two hours, and would be falling asleep continuously throughout the day.

As he had a lot of spare time until everyone woke up around three in the afternoon, Will went to the library to see if Charlie had any decent book lying over the place. Charlie was not much of a reader, none of the Bingleys were, except for Caroline, who read to impress Will, but she read such bullshit that instead of impressing him left him thinking she was even stupider than she appeared.

He walked about the house for awhile, until he found that, luckily, the house which Charlie had rented had a library of its own, which had not been filled by Charlie. Will thanked his stars and took a worn out copy of _´To Kill a mockingbird´_ which had been one of his mother´s favourite books, and who read it so often to both him and Georgie when they were young that both of them knew the words by heart. It was because of that, that when Will was given a dog as a kid he had decided to name him Atticus.

After the dog it had been an inside joke on the Darcy siblings that, whenever they had to name a pet they would name it after any of the book´s characters. This ended on their naming one of the zoo´s turtles as Jean Louise Finch, but calling her Scout affectionately. Eventually, the 100 year old turtle ended up responding to that name. They had also named their Aunt´s parrot Calpurnia, though the joke was lost on Aunt Catherine, who had wanted to name it something she considered classy and sophisticated but was rather ridiculous for a parrot, like for example Agamemnon or Thaddeus. Also, whenever they went to the vet and saw the puppies on display they would name them, or when they found a stray dog, or when they saw a pigeon naming it Boo Radley. It had been Georgia's idea to name a pigeon Boo Radley, but later on, she couldn't quite remember which one it was that she had named, so it ended up in them calling pigeons Boo Radleys. Will stated remembering this affectionately, when Charles walked on him with a goofy smile.

"Thinking of Lizzy Bennet? I saw you looking all night at her yesterday, feeling repentant? It would have been worth a little ache to dance with her, wouldn't it?" Charlie walked in, mocking Will.

"Maybe, I honestly do not know if it would have been worth it, but what is done is done" Will replied more seriously to his joke than Charlie expected "Anyway, I had been thinking about a certain smiley someone with whom you spent a great deal of the night"

"Isn´t Jane an angel? I think she is perfect. Will, will it be too soon if I ask her to marry me tomorrow?"

"God, I think you should wait or you might risk scaring her off" Will laughed.

"Maybe, still, I will ask her on a date one of these days, I want to know her a little bit first"

"Who are we talking about?" Caroline entered into the conversation, dragging a sleepy Louisa and an annoyed John into the room.

"Jane" Charlie answered with a dreamy look on his face

"Oh, the girl you spent the whole night with yesterday? I don't think there is much more to know of her, after all you two talked last night, and she seems to smile too much, though she is really nice considering she is small-town. What do you think, Will?"

"I think she does smile too much" Will conceded laughing as he sat up from the sofa where he had been reading when he was interrupted. He promptly left the library with Charlie at his heels, leaving Caroline to contemplate if she had done anything wrong.

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**A/N: I forgot to write the disclaimer at the beginning, though you all know by now the story is NOT mine. Also, please, please R&R (read and review for any newbie) it makes my day whenever I hear from any of you. Happy reading **


	5. Trauma?

**Hi everyone, (SPOILER ALERT) I was looking forward to this chapter for some time, here there are a few basic things explained about Lizzy's accident. Further on I will have her tell firsthand how everything happened, but this is a sort of summary. I hope you like it.**

**Elisabeth () = Thank you very much, I am trying to update at least once every week. =)**

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**Trauma?**

"Will, could you come on my date with Jane today?" Charlie asked as he was munching some cereal.

"I don't think you are supposed to take you friend to a date, Charlie, I may be wrong, though. It has been a while since I was out of the game, and the rules may have changed"

"Do not laugh! This is serious business, I was going to ask her to go with me alone, only the two of us, but then Caroline walked in while I was telling her if she would like to go out and invited herself and Louisa. Now, if I can make Hurst tag along, and bring you, it could be some sort of triple date. Please, I am asking as your best friend" Charlie explained and pleaded with Will all in one breath.

"Are you planning to get me to date your sister?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean yes, I mean… I know you don't like Caroline but please do me this favor"

"Does she know I will be going out with her as a favor to you, and not because I want to date her?"

"Yes, I mean, no" Charlie blushed uncomfortably.

"I do not want to hurt her, and I do not want to get her hopes up. Please, Charlie, it's your sister, help me out on this one"

"And, what if I ask Jane to bring along her sister, would you come then?" Charlie asked suddenly hopeful "I do not mean anything, Will, for God's sake! If there were two women you couldn't be dating both of them, so it would be a friendly outing, but there would be enough people so that I may run away with Jane unnoticed" Charlie explained after he saw Darcy's astonished face at his suggestion of bringing Jane's sister along.

"I am such a good friend, go call Jane and tell her that her sister may tag along" He granted.

In reality he just wanted an excuse to talk to Lizzy, or just to see her. Since the party he could not take her out of his mind, and yet, he could not afford to fall in love with her. He was supposed to marry Anne, though they weren't engaged yet. Heck, they weren't even a couple, but it was what everyone expected of him. At first he had thought that maybe one day he would find the girl for him, but as the years passed by and still no one came he began to lose hope, and eventually he quitted dating, so he was more or less resigned that he would probably end marrying Anne, much to Georgiana's dismay and their Aunt's happiness. He tried to convince himself that he could not forget Lizzy because he had not wanted to dance with her and that if he somehow atoned, her memory would leave him alone. Still, he had not wanted to dance only because the pain in his leg would be unbearable if he stood up for more than a few minutes.

* * *

Lizzy was sleeping uncomfortably; they had been too lazy last night to make Jane's bed, so they had decided that Lizzy and Jane would be sharing bed. It was a really bad idea, since Lizzy now had a cramp in her neck, and woke up with her sister's feet on her face. This did not help to lighten her humor, she had slept nearly nothing last night, and waking up to her sister's phone ringing in such a position was certainly not her idea of a good morning.

"Ugh, Jane, do you still have _I will follow you into the_ _dark_ as a ringtone, seriously?" Charlotte complained after Jane's ringing phone had waken her up

"I still love _death cab for cutie_, forgive me for using my favorite song as ringtone" Jane said sassily as she answered her phone "Hi….yes, Charlie…Fine...sure…yes, I understand…She would love to come…yes, see you later, Bye"

At the mention of the name Charlie both Lizzy and Charlotte perked up and started paying attention to the conversation.

"So, what did dream boat Bingley wanted to say to you that was so important that he had to wake us all up? It better be worth losing my beauty sleep" Lizzy said in a suggestive tone.

"Actually, he wanted me to ask you if you could please come with us today" Jane said innocently

"What?" Both Lizzy and Char shouted in unison

"What kind of guy wants to bring the sister to a date?" Lizzy asked annoyed on her sisters behalf

"Only a pervert" Charlotte answered in a monotonous, matter of fact, suggestive voice, making it sound even more disturbing than it already did.

"No, girls, please. He called to apologize, saying that Louisa had invited John Hurst, and that, seeing as Darcy was his guest he could not leave him alone, so they had invited him too, and asked if I would like to invite Lizzy too, I think he did it to make it less awkward"

"Well, instead of making it less awkward I think he has just succeeded in making it the most awkward friendly gather in the record of awkwardness" Lizzy concluded pitifully.

Half an hour later the Bennet girls had left Char's house and were deciding what to wear. It was midsummer and very hot, so Lizzy went for a pair of ratty shorts with a small light brown belt, a white tank top, an unbuttoned dark blue light sweater which reached to the length of the shorts and her personal trade mark bracelets. Jane, instead, went for a skirt with a white chemise tucked inside and her favorite high heels.

As the bell rang the two girls were finishing tying up their hair. Elizabeth had been wearing a messy bun, when Jane, with her perfect curls, walked in and decided that she would rather Lizzy wore a braid down one of her shoulders. Lizzy grabbed quickly her purse and was putting on her toms when, to the sisters' dismay Lydia opened the door and found Charlie there with Darcy standing awkwardly behind him.

"You are coming to look for Lizzy and Jane?" Lydia asked with disbelief as she opened the door.

"Actually yes, we had agreed we would pick them up around four" Charlie explained as Jane and Lizzy arrived at the door breathless.

"Thanks for opening Lydia" Lizzy said menacingly, going out with Jane and shutting the door on their sister's face before she could embarrass them.

When they reached the car Charlie realized the loophole in his master plan. His mini cooper only had five seats, and they were seven people.

"I drive, and Jane will be coming shotgun." Charlie said, trying to decide who got to sit in which place "Then, we can make Louisa sit on top of John" He continued

"Oh, I could sit with Will if we are lacking space" Caroline interrupted her brother. At this Will started silently pleading with Charlie, who in turn begged him to stand his sister for the ride, they were having a silent argument, and though they were discreet, this was not lost on Lizzy, who had been paying attention, concerned of where she would have to seat.

"No, I think it would be best Lizzy shared a seat with Will" Charlie concluded. Will shot his friend an angry look, to him it appeared as if Charlie was taking him from the frying pan to the fire. His friend gave him an amused smile, deciding Elizabeth was just Darcy's type; they just needed a little help to start bonding. He thought the way she had laughed at the party and how she had shut the door on her sister's nose was typical Darcy behavior.

The ride to the cinema was really disturbing. Lizzy was pressed in between Darcy and Caroline, Darcy was leaning against the window, trying to ignore Caroline who was leaning over Lizzy trying to flirt with him.

"Will dear, how is your leg going? Charlie told me you were done with rehabilitation, though it must still hurt a lot. I hope you are not planning to go on another tour once you are fully recovered?" Caroline asked while patting Will's knee.

"It has not yet recovered fully, though once it is I will go and live with Georgiana for some years until she goes to college. I do not trust anyone else to look over her." Will said sadly, looking over the window.

"Oh, yes, poor dear, all those years living without her brother, don't you think it awful, Elisabeth?" Caroline asked, drawing Elizabeth into the conversation because she was sitting in between both of them.

"Sorry, what did you say?"Lizzy asked looking over to Caroline, she had been hearing the conversation but she could not understand half of it.

"I was saying that it is a pity that Georgie had to live all this years without her brother"

Was this the same Georgie with whom they had compared her the night before? Why was she living without her brother, and how old was she? She was probably Darcy's girlfriend, so she would have to be at least twenty, since he looked to be around twenty five, but he had said that she wasn't yet going to college for some years…

"Being away from your loved ones through any lapse of time is sad, so I can only imagine what it must be to be parted from a brother for years. Though why it was necessary to part siblings must remain a mystery to me" Lizzy said, trying to get some of her questions answered.

"I followed a friend into war to Iraq" Darcy intervened.

"Georgie is your sister?" Lizzy blurted out unable to contain herself, she had been more than half convinced that Georgie was his girlfriend.

"Yes, we have been divided for the last ten years, though I have been in war only the last four"

"He has come back because someone shot him on the leg, and he almost lost it. Luckily we were able to save it, though it still hurts a lot. Isn't it like that Will dear?" Caroline started talking, not liking to be left out of a conversation she had started. Darcy just nodded, not liking that Caroline though it was her duty to tell everyone he was hurt. While Lizzy stared at him, thinking that, maybe, he had a reason to hate humanity other than mere misanthropy.

"Must have been hard to go through it" she said in a low voice, almost to herself. Darcy heard her, since they were sharing seats.

"More than you could ever imagine." He answered.

The ride to the cinema had been rather long, but when they arrived it proved to be worth it. They watched _The Butterfly effect_, much to Lizzy's joy, since it was one of her favorite movies, and she did not know it was on cinemas again, she enjoyed herself, even if Darcy was sitting beside her, wincing every time he saw blood or explosions, or fire, or any type of violence, which was, basically, the entire movie.

Charlie and Jane seemed to have enjoyed it, or well, what they had seen of the movie, as they had been most of the time looking to each other when they thought they could not be seen and then looking away, or awkwardly bumping knees, elbows, or reaching for popcorn at the same time. All in all, Lizzy thought they were adorable.

Dinner was good enough, they took Chinese food, and Lizzy would have enjoyed herself if she could have just turned a deaf ear to what Caroline told her. They had just sat down on the table, when Caroline, sensing the threat that the Bennet girls possessed, and without Darcy within earshot to guess her motives she began picking on Elizabeth.

"So, Elisa, right?" She asked as she sat down besides Lizzy.

"Lizzy actually" She corrected with a tolerant smile, Lizzy had already decided she did not like Caroline when she saw the way she leaned upon Darcy, though it was hilarious to see his distressed face.

"I rather call you Elisa; it sounds more sophisticated than Lizzy, if you can understand what I mean. Elisa has a classier ring, whereas Lizzy sound vulgar, at least in my ears, who are accustomed to higher class speech. Though you do not have to understand what I am talking about, I mean, there is a notable lack of decent society here, but it is so with all small towns" Caroline explained, talking as if she was speaking to a dumb child who was really sleepy and could not only not understand what she was saying but whose brain was much too slow to grasp her meaning. "Not that I say that you are not decent society, you are rather the ones left to suffer this lack, since you and your sister are the only decent people in the whole town" She added as an afterthought, when she realized she was being only too direct in insulting her.

Lizzy just raised an eyebrow and nodded her head slowly in response. To her, Caroline was talking slowly because she was kind of thick, not because she had meant to insult her, so she responded in the same retarded way.

After a while Darcy noticed that they were talking to each other as if they were brainless, so he decided to intervene.

"Did you like the movie?" He asked looking at both of them, though referring at nobody in particular.

"No, I think it was silly, he appeared and disappeared in different places out of nowhere, and what was the whole deal with her. Also, there was way too much blood for my taste; I would have preferred something a little more sophisticated" Caroline started talking; leaving in evidence she had not understood the movie at all.

"Unquestionably too much blood" Darcy made a face of disgust.

"I like it" Lizzy said in defense of her favorite movie. "I think it is genius the way in which, when he travels back, all his blackouts make sense."

Caroline stared at her and Darcy said nothing. She had warmed up to him a little during the ride to the cinema, but she wanted to seriously punch him at the moment. Caroline was no better.

The rest of the meal passed in silence, and so did the ride back. Louisa and John had wanted to stay and take a walk through the park, so there was no need to share seats this time.

When they arrived at the Bennett's Faye opened the door, and upon seeing Darcy and Charlie insisted that they should all walk in and have a cup of tea. She would not be denied, so it ended up on them walking inside, only to find Lydia running down the stairs waving a bra in her hands.

"Lizzy, I need to go out with my friends tonight; we are going to see a new band that has just arrived to town, so I need you to lend me your pushup bra. I absolutely need it" Lydia screamed as she run down the stairs, the bra in question in her hands.

"Lydia!" Lizzy screamed, embarrassed to death, she knew that, sooner or later, something like that would happen.

"What, you have never used it. See, it still has the price tag on. You do not need it, since you don't date anymore, but I do date, and I need to appear the best I can if I want to catch anyone" She complained, suddenly noticing they had visitors. "Oh! What a surprise! I did not know you would be coming!" She said, looking at Darcy pointedly but addressing the whole of the company with a smile.

"Lydia, would you come with me?" Lizzy said threateningly, staring to walk out of the room.

"No, I won't, since you are sure to shout at me once we are out of earshot, I prefer to be here where Jane can keep an eye on you. I will also take your sexy skirt, the one Jason gave you. You have only worn that one once, and that was because he begged you to." Lydia continued rattling on.

"LIDYA, you cannot take any of my things especially that skirt!" Lizzy was starting to stress, and stressing was not good.

"Come on! Jason is dead now, so he won't be coming anytime soon to ask you to wear the skirt, plus, you never use it, there is no need to treasure it when I can give it a good use. I don't think it even fits you anymore, you gained some weight since you were at hospital." Lydia was trying to piss of Lizzy, so that she would be overwhelmed and give up, but this time it went too far.

Lizzy was about to explode, but, Faye saved Lydia by walking then into the room bringing coffee and tea for everyone. She noticed then that Lizzy and Lydia appeared to have been arguing, Lizzy was on the verge of tears, and Lydia had an annoyed look on her face while she was holding out a new bra.

"What is the problem, girls?" Faye said sternly, if there was one thing that she was, was a good hostess and she liked to keep up appearances and make her guests feel welcome, not make her daughters look like fools as they fought over a bra. Still she had to concede it was a great idea on Lydia's part to bring down the bra, showing it to the gentlemen would probably leave them wanting for more.

"Nothing mom, Lizzy has just offered to give Jason's skirt to me, since he is dead now there is no one to appreciate her on it, so she is giving it to someone who will put it to good use." Lydia said sweetly, making Lizzy turn red from the roots of her hair to the base of her neck. Faye looked more relaxed now, so she left the tea on the table and went to look for some cake or cookies to eat with it. As soon as Faye left, Lizzy said a stiff 'excuse me' to their guests and stormed out of the room, no longer able to conceal her emotions, but not wanting to make a scene.

"Jeez, Jane, you should look more closely on Lizzy, you promised Dad to keep an eye on her" Lydia said as she turned back and went out of the room.

"What was all that about?" Caroline asked annoyed once Lydia had gone out. She wanted to appear disgusted, though she had loved the way in which Lydia had managed to embarrass Lizzy to such an extent she was no longer any competition.

"I am really sorry; Lydia is in the habit of sneaking up into Lizzy's bureau and stealing her clothes, and it annoys Lizzy greatly. I should go check on her as soon as mom comes back" Jane explained, looking worried over to where Lizzy had stormed out.

"No, I did not mean about that, I meant all about that thing of Jason, and the hospital, and the treasured skirt, and promising to keep an eye on Lizzy" Caroline said, trying to see if Lizzy had a boyfriend, or a black past, which made her unavailable for Darcy.

"Oh, well, I don't know if Lizzy would want me to go telling that story about" Jane was concerned, and she knew how her sister hated whenever she told people about the accident.

"It is okay, you do not have to tell us" Charlie said sympathetically.

"Yes, if you do not trust us you have no reason to tell us anything" Caroline said acting offended. This got on Jane, who felt she was being a bad friend by not telling them, so she spilled out.

"Well, you see, when she was younger Lizzy started dating this guy named Jason. I do not know exactly what happened between them, since Jason seemed to be kind of sweet with her; he gave her lots of expensive gifts, like the skirt, and drove her everywhere, and was always opening her doors and that kind of stuff. Anyway, one day they had gone on a date, and he was driving her back when a drunken guy on a truck crashed with them. Lizzy called the ambulance, and waited with Jason until they arrived. When the paramedics were found them Lizzy had lost consciousness, and Jason was dead. She had been severely wounded, and it was a miracle that she did not die as well. After that she spent a lot of time in and out of hospital, and developed some kind of trauma. It was really hard on her, and I think she blames herself for having survived instead of Jason. So as soon as she seemed to be getting over it I promised Dad I would keep an eye on her, to make sure nothing happened." Jane told the story, and when she finished, they saw that Lizzy had been standing in the doorway the whole time, now a single tear was sliding down her cheek, and without a word she turned back and left again.

Darcy was the only one who had remained silent during all the argument, he knew what to lose someone you loved was like, there had been only too much deaths in his family, and he also knew what it was like to be in hospital, being the frail one that had to be taken care of. Everyone was looking down, so Will took the opportunity to go and look for Lizzy, he pitied the poor girl and wanted to help her.

He sneaked out of the room, and walked about a little until he heard gentle sobbing behind a door. He knocked smoothly, and after waiting a while to no avail he opened it a little to see if it was indeed Lizzy the one who was crying. He saw her curled up in a ball, sitting on the floor, with her forehead pressed on her knees and her arms hugging her legs. When she heard him walk in she looked up, and seeing it was him she tried to compose herself.

"Here" He said holding up a tissue "Don't cry, you are much more beautiful when you are smiling" Darcy tried to soothe her in the same way he did when his sister was sad.

"Would you please leave me alone?" She said miserably, though she wasn't sobbing anymore, she hated to appear weak.

"I'll leave you when you are in a state to be left alone, now stand up from there." Darcy said as she made no attempt to stand he gently picked her up from the floor. She did not move an inch, except to get hold of his shirt once he had lifted her to keep her balance.

They were in Tom Bennett's study, though Darcy did not know it, it was Lizzy's favorite part of the house, since it smelled of old books and tobacco, a smell which reminded her strongly of her father, and which had always managed to help her calm down. He sat down on a big armchair behind a mahogany desk, and cuddled her until she looked up shaking.

"Are you all right now Lizzie?" He asked, and she noticed, as if for the first time, his cute British accent, that made him pronounce differently her name.

"Yes, thank you, I do not know what happened to me, it has been a while since I last had a breakdown and ended up crying" She explained, drying a tear with the sleeves of her sweater.

"It had to happen, sooner or later" He said "Do you want to tell me about Jason?" Darcy did not know exactly why he had asked that, maybe he thought he had to ask. It was certainly _NOT_ because he wanted to know more about him and if she still felt something for her ex, it was because he knew it would make her feel better if she told someone.

"I do not like to talk about it, and sorry, but I just met you yesterday" She said trying to get up from where she was sitting. He grabbed her by the waist and sat her back down on his legs.

"Sure, I only offered because I know firsthand it makes you feel better when you tell someone. True story" He said as she rested her head on his shoulder, smelling Old Spice on his shirt. A few minutes later she felt him lay his hand on her head, and like that she dropped off to sleep, tired of crying and all the melodrama.

She woke up when she felt Darcy shaking her slightly, and she could hear her father, as if from far away, walking into the room and demanding an explanation. However, when she lifted her face and he saw she had been crying his attitude changed completely.

"Baby, what happened?" He asked concerned. She was still cuddled on Darcy's lap, with her face against his shoulder, so her voice came muffled.

"Lydia asked if I would give her the black skirt Jason gave me, and it pissed me off, and Charlie, Caroline and Darcy were there, and I almost died of embarrassment, so I walked out of the room. When I walked in I heard Jane retelling Jason's death, and I had a breakdown" Lizzy explained starting to sob again as Darcy run circles on her back with his thumb.

Tom appeared thoughtful, and it was after a while that he spoke.

"And how came you here?" He asked Will.

Will had been so caught up on stopping Lizzy from crying that he had not though that it would be weird for the father to find his daughter curled up in some man's lap, in the dark, especially if they had never met.

"I am William Darcy" He said offering to shake hands with Tom. Darcy always avoided using his full name when he could, it was a mouthful, and this people could not care anyway.

"Dad, Darcy came in when I broke down, and tried to help. I fell asleep crying on his shoulder." Lizzy explained the awkward situation, truth was, after a while Darcy had also fallen asleep. She loosened herself from his grasp and stood up, facing her dad, who looked to be thinking what to say.

"Well, your friends have already gone, they left about an hour ago, they thought you had already gone home." Tom said as Will stood up.

"Oh, alright, I am sorry to disturb. Good night then." Darcy waved awkwardly and left. Lizzy wanted to offer him to stay the night there, or to drive him, but Tom held her back, and Darcy walked alone back to Netherfield.

* * *

"How are you my baby?" Tom asked gently once Elizabeth had settled down to bed. She was all covered up and he was sitting by her bed like when she was five.

"I am alright now, I don't know why I broke down, I had been nervous for some days now, so it was not unexpected, but still, I would rather it had not happened while everyone was here.

"I know baby" Tom caressed her "Still that Darcy stayed with you, would you care to explain that?"

"I don't know, the first time I saw him he said it would be a pain to dance with me, but he has been to war, so I think it was more of a knee-jerk reaction to take care of those who are emotionally scarred." She said, logic was, if he had been to war, he must have seen many disturbing things, so his heart must have warmed up to any suffering peer, who was even more traumatized then he was.

Tom nodded his head, and after a while Lizzy dropped off to sleep.

* * *

**AN: Disclaimer: This is not mine. Please Review.**


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